Korea says death toll from tick-borne virus rises to 8

A deadly tick-borne virus has killed eight elderly South Koreans, the state-run disease control agency said.

The latest victim of the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus is a 62-year-old man in the country’s southern resort island of Jeju. He died on Thursday after being treated at a hospital for weeks, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The eight deaths occurred mostly in the country’s southwest or southeast regions, and the virus did not affect people in Seoul and its adjacent areas, according to the agency.

One of the victims died in August last year, though her infection of the virus was identified in laboratories in May this year. It was the country’s first death caused by the virus, the agency said.

The virus, which causes high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, multiple organ failure and other blood-related problems, also sickened five other elderly people.

Some of the five were released from the hospital while others remain hospitalized for treatment for the tick-borne disease, said Kim Eun-hee, a deputy director handling cases involving the virus at the KCDC.

She did not elaborate on conditions for those who are hospitalized. (Yonhap News)